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Egypt and Tourist Destinations

Tuesday، 22 August 2017 02:49 PM

AAA

Egypt possesses all components of tourist attraction. Beside its magnificent nature and wonderful climate, Egypt has one third of the world's monuments. It is also replete with heritage and civilization that is rooted in the depth of history along more than 7,000 years.

The Diversity of the Tourist Product in Egypt

The archaeological, historical, religious, cultural tourism are from the most vital and ancient kinds of tourism, not to mention the conferences, international exhibitions, desert safari, yacht, marine, environmental, therapeutic, sports, and rural tourisms, in addition to the tourism festivals and activities. In this respect, the "diving center tourism" currently represents very popular activities.

Historical Tourism

Pharaonic, Greek and Roman Monuments

Historical monuments are distributed allover the Egyptian cities, on top of which comes the three pyramids ( Cheops, Chephren, Mykerinus), in addition to Saqqara and Dahshour in Giza governorate that includes other pyramids, most famous of which is the Step Pyramid of Djoser.

Alexandria also includes various monumental sites, including Pompey's Pillar, the Black Head Temple, Qum Soqafa Tomb, Serapeum and Agaysron Temples.

As regards Luxor, it includes various monuments and temples, salient of which are al-Karnak, Luxor, and Habu Temples, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Deir el-Madina and the Mummification Museum.

Egypt is fraught with so many religious monuments; Islamic and Coptic. Among the most important Coptic monuments are the Hanging Church, and churches of Virgin Mary, Abu Serga, Mar Gerguis, St. Mina, St. Barbara, along with the Virgin Mary Tree at Az-Zaytoun, and the Cathedral of St. Mark at Abbasia and Alexandria. There are also many monasteries including: Monastery of St. Anthony, Wadi En-Natrun at Western Desert, and Saint Paul, along with Al- Muharraq Monastery, Bishop Hedra, and the White Monastery, St. Catherine and Mar Mina Monastery.

Due to the importance of the cultural and religious heritage of Egypt and in order to revive its great and unique history, work on the revival of the Holy Family path has begun at the beginning of the new millennium, in addition to reviving the path of the family of the Prophet which is carried out at the present time.

Egypt, because of its several desert and mountainous areas, provides fun and adventure for tourists who are interested in safari travels. This kind of tourism is available in Mount Saint Catherine, Mount Moses, Dakhla and Kharga Oases, al- Ain al-Sukhna, Red Sea area, al-Qousair, and Marsa Alam. It is also available in the mountains that surround Sharm el-Sheikh area and in the city of Safaga which is characterized by chains of mountains overlapping with deserts where Safari tourists pay attention to watching animals and migrating birds.

Cave Tourism .. rare scenes in Mount Owaynat

Besides coastal resorts and safari tourism, a new kind of tourism has started to attract large numbers of tourists, i.e. visiting the mountainous and desert caves in Mount Owaynat and al-golf al-kabeer area, where the walls of the caves are decorated with colored drawings by prehistoric-man. The drawings also depict some of the scenes, of people and animals, that were prevalent in that era. These paintings are comparable to the works of the famous artist Picasso in its simplicity. Tourists, from all over the world, flock, throughout the year, to this region which dates back to nearly 7 thousand years.

Therapeutic Tourism

Egypt is famous for its sulphur and mineral waters, cities, and its dry atmosphere free from moisture. Tourist areas, which have the characteristics of therapeutic tourism, are various in Egypt. These areas, which enjoy deep-rooted reputation, comprises: Helwan, Ain El Sira, al-Ain al-Sokhna, Hurghada, Fayyoum, oasis region, Aswan, Sinai, and the city of Safaga which lies on the Red Sea coast and which owns all the therapeutic tourism elements and which is visited by many tourist groups. This city is famous for its black sands which treat some skin diseases. In addition to that it has the infrastructure for therapeutic tourism, namely medical and specialized services, and center for rehabilitation and physiotherapy equipped to provide the best medical and therapeutic services.

Golf tourism

Distinct Courts in Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh

Golf tourism is one of the new tourist patterns and an important addition to tourism in Egypt, in line with the global tourism demand trends. It addresses a distinguished category of world tourists of high spending rate. It gives them the opportunity to practice their popular sport in very distinguished courts in unique tourist areas in Luxor, Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. Egypt, currently, comprises more than fifteen golf courts, ten of which are called PGA , Which contributed to the choice of Egypt by the International Organization for golf trip organizers in 2006 to host the final of Italy's Golf Championship, which was held on one of golf courts in a tourist village in al- Ain al-Sukhna.

Beach Tourism

Attractive Extended Beaches ... and Natural Unique Bays

Egypt has stunning beaches on both the Mediterranean and the Red seasThe Red Sea is distinguished by its pure water, colorful corals, rare fish species, and various series of mountains extending along and so close to the sea that keeps only a narrow plain suitable for setting up camps. Also, al Aqaba Bay has very special beaches that are suitable for water sports on top of which are Safaga and Hurghada, where there are extended amazing beaches in addition to the warm atmosphere that gives a great opportunity to receive visitors throughout the nine months of the year.As for the North Coast, it's well known for its numerous tourist villages that extend along the coast to the city of Alexandria, the bride of the Mediterranean, which is considered as the first resort in Egypt.It is characterized by abundant natural beaches and outstanding coves along a coastline that extends for 70km from the east to the west of the city.

Nature Reserves...for Ecotourism Amateurs

Egypt has 30 nature reserves with a total area of 150 000 square kilometers and the most famous are: Ras Mohammed, South Sinai Governorate, which is characterized by its coral beaches, colorful fish and rare aquatic animals. Also, it is a home to many birds, animals, reptiles and insects.Qarun Lake, one of the oldest natural lakes in the world, and Wadi al Rayan, which contains many rare fossils of whales and in 2005 it was selected by the UNESCO as the best World Heritage areas of the skeletons of whales.The White Desert, in New Valley which is 38km away from the town of Farafra and consists of sedimentary limestone formations. The Gilf al-Kebir, South Owaynat Mountain and is considered the largest area of fallen meteorites in the world.

There are other natural reserves such as Zaranik and coastal bushes in North Sinai Governorate, St. Catherine, Nabq, Abu Galoum and Taba in South Sinai, Wadi al-Allaqi in Aswan, the Petrified Forest in Maadi, Wadi Degla in Cairo, Assiouty Valley in Assiut Governorate, and Borollos in Kafr El-Sheikh.

Yacht Tourism

The White Sea region is an important center for yacht tourism in the world, where more than 30 thousand Yachts roam this area annually.Therefore Egypt gave due attention to boosting yacht tourism and the establishment of specialized ports on the coasts of Egypt.

Naama Marina is the first marina for yachts in Naama Bay in Sharm El-Sheikh, and it was established according to the most modern technologies. This project is, also, an important step in the development of yacht tourism ; besides Hurghada , Mediterranean Sea Marina and Sokhna Marina.

New Tourist Cities and New promising Areas

Egypt embraces many promising areas which include beaches, tourist resorts and hotels the most prominent of these areas are as follows:

Modern Tourist Villages along the North Coast

This area is characterized by its moderate coastal climate which encourages the establishment of tourist villages and thus makes it a promising source of national wealth. Many prominent tourist villages were established such as Marina Village and Sidi Abdel Rahman.

Sharm el-SheikhThe largest Dive Centers in the world

Sharm el-Sheikh is located on al Aqaba Bay south-east of Sinai Peninsula, bounded to the north by Nabq and to the south by Ras Mohamed, while its beaches extend along the coastline to al-Aqaba,with a distance of about 18.5 Km.

The city enjoys environmental and natural potentials that are unique and diverse, making it one of the main centers of tourism attraction; both international and domestic. In addition, it is considered an international summer and winter resort adored by fans of fishing, swimming and scuba diving in the largest diving centers equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Sharm el-Sheikh has joined the “Earth Lung Initiative” to be converted into a green city for the preservation of the environment.

Hurghada…Coral Reefs and Rare Aquaria

It is located 395 km southern Suez, and it is characterized by its year- round dry and temperate climate along with the purity of its waters, making it a center of tourist attraction especially for fans of water sports. Furthermore, this picturesque city provides an opportunity for its visitors to watch the sea depths through state-of-the-art international technological means.

Hurghada thrives with a wide range of hotels and tourist villages of various levels, thus it acquired the title of the most beautiful tourist destinations.

New Valley Oases...Desert Environment and Green Spaces

It is an oasis located in New Valley Governorate in the western desert of Egypt. This governorate- which lies 600 km away from Cairo- gathers between desert environment and green spaces, along with wells and sulfur springs. This made it one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Egypt, where safari, historical and environmental tourism, among others, are found.

Rural Tourism

The Egyptian countryside with its vast green spaces constitutes more than half of Egypt's area. Therefore, rural tourism became a priority in tourism industry in Egypt. Among the most famous places distinguished by its spacious countryside are: Fayoum, Ash-Sharqueia, Al-Behera, Ismailia, among other governorates and villages of Egypt along the River Nile.

Younis Village that lies on the shores of Lake Qarun is highly renowned, and it exceeds the European countryside in its beauty where it gathers between water, greenery, beauty of the desert and the rural atmosphere. Al-Fayoum is distinguished by orchards, and Ain-Es-Selline area is considered one of the areas that are most famous for diverse orchards where there are trees of mango, apricot, guava, pomegranate and grapes within the same orchard. “Beni-Salih” area that lies near Ain-Es-Selline area is characterized by pigeon towers. “Zawyet Dahshur” in Giza Governorate is considered among the most famous rural villages, and it is characterized by the cultivation of palm.

Unique Astronomical Phenomena Watched by the World

The Sun Passes over the Face of Ramses II

Egypt witnesses astronomical phenomena that are followed by the whole world at different times throughout the year, including the sun’s passing over the face of Ramses II at Abu Simbel Temple, and this scene is repeated twice, on October 22nd and on February 22nd. This phenomenon was discovered in 1874 where the explorer, Amelia Eduards and her team monitored this phenomenon and recorded it in her book published in 1899: “Thousand Miles above the Nile”. Furthermore, Lake Qarun in Fayoum Governorate also witnesses a similar astronomical phenomenon where the sun directly overheads the Holy of Holies at the Temple of Qarun Palace on the 21st of December every year.